With this king I thee wed

LONDON - The bride wore an ivory chiffon dress, an oyster silk basket weave coat offset by a wide-brimmed feather-detailed hat. The groom was in a conservative double-breasted suit and a cream-coloured waistcoat. After two months of muddled preparations - and a lifetime of waiting - Charles and Camilla, the future ruling monarchs of England, finally last night said the words "I do", sealing their union in a quiet civil ceremony in the gothic surrounds of the Guildhall.

With wedding rings crafted out of traditional Welsh gold visible, the couple emerged from the chapel now man and wife, 35 long years after they met on a polo field near Windsor Castle. The couple arrived together in a black Rolls Royce and made their way past 15,000 well-wishers before entering the church which was resplendent with lily of the valley, symbolising a return of happiness. Camilla looked at ease waving and smiling at the throngs of royal watchers. "She looked beautiful and so happy," said Mandy D'angelo as Camilla made her way into the chapel.

Nevertheless, it was a far cry from the fairytale wedding of 1981. Last night there weren't the millions on the streets of London or the pomp and circumstance that was played out before a worldwide television audience of 800 million in the grandiose St Paul's Cathedral. For his wedding to Camilla - the matronly mother of two - just 30 people witnessed the nuptials.

But while the 20-minute ceremony was low-key, the words uttered at the altar were extraordinary. In an act of public penitence, Camilla joined Charles to say: "We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, by thought, word and deed. Against the Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.

"We do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for these misdoings. The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father. Forgive us all that is past." Then a simple kiss, and that was that. When Charles takes the throne, she legally will be queen, but wishes to be known as Princess Consort - a bow to opinion polls that show 70 per cent of the population opposed to Queen Camilla.

Yesterday outside, people waving Union Jack flags or raising banners honouring the late Princess Diana lined the streets in bright sunshine and a chilly breeze in the riverside town of Windsor, west of London. Security was very tight. In addition to snipers on rooftops, plainclothes officers moved in the crowd, sniffer dogs and police armed with handguns watched over streets around Windsor Castle.

Thames Valley Police, responsible outside the castle, had 550 officers on duty and Scotland Yard, which is in charge inside the castle, had dozens, including sharpshooters.

Camilla's dress and other wedding day outfits were designed by Anna Valentine of Robinson Valentine, the deluxe atelier based in London - which has designed outfits for international stars like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Philip Treacy, the celebrity milliner, designed her hat. "There were two preliminary meetings at Clarence House to decide what she should wear and, at the second meeting, we presented her with ideas and sketches," Ms Valentine said. "We then had a total of seven fittings."

In keeping with tradition, Mrs Parker Bowles spent Friday night at Clarence House, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, while Prince Charles spent the night at his country mansion in Gloucestershire, with his sons, Princes William and Harry.

The one disappointment for Charles was that his mother, Queen Elizabeth, not a fan of the 35-year affair that spanned both partners' failed marriages, did not attend the civil ceremony.

But she - and it seems just about everyone else, actors, popstars, presidents and royalty included - did go to the religious blessing afterward, at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Princes William and Harry attended both ceremonies and the day would surely have stirred painful memories for the pair, who witnessed first-hand the collapse of their parents' marriage.

They arrived about 15 minutes before their father and new stepmother and smiled and waved to the warm and welcoming crowd.

However, the build-up to the wedding was anything but plain sailing.

First the venue had to be switched from Windsor Castle to the town hall in a mix-up over marriage licences.

The death of the Pope and his funeral required the date to be changed. There was more. On the eve of the wedding, police arrested a comedian who gatecrashed a birthday party at Windsor Castle. Self-styled "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak was held by police outside the offices of The Sun newspaper in London. The incident came two days after a Sun journa-list smuggled a fake "bomb" past police into Windsor Castle where Queen Elizabeth last night hosted a reception for Charles and Camilla.

So you can understand why recent headlines in the British press have included The Sun's "Jinxed: Queen's despair at Charles' curse" and the Daily Mail's succinct "Can anything else possibly go wrong?"

Every detail of the wedding has been exhaustively covered in the media. The main TV channels in the UK devoted hours to live coverage of the blessing, interviews, public reaction and analysis by everybody from constitutional experts to style gurus. Among issues canvassed was the wedding's constitutional implications for New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries.

"It's simple," said New Zealand's new High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, Jonathan Hunt. "As far as New Zealand is concerned, Prince Charles is the heir to the throne."

"At the present time we have on the throne Queen Elizabeth and I don't think there's any suggestion that there be any change in our constitutional position while she is the monarch.

"All I can say is we have a system that works in New Zealand and while it works I don't think there's any need for radical change."

New Zealand was represented at the function by New Zealand's Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright, with whom Prince Charles stayed in Wellington last month. Dame Silvia said the ceremony was not about constitutional issues but about two human beings celebrating their marriage. "The message I personally wish to give them is that he and Mrs Parker Bowles have a long and happy marriage," she said.

New Zealand also presented the couple with a gift of a selection of New Zealand plants for Prince Charles' southern hemisphere garden at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. A gift, Mr Hunt says, royal staff had suggested would be well received.

But a quick poll of a few of the estimated 200,000 New Zealanders resident in the UK found only lukewarm interest in the wedding. "I might look at the pictures in the papers," said 30-year-old journalist Shannon Lindsay, from Waiuku.

"I'm interested to see what Zara (Phillips, Charles' niece) shows up in. I think she might ignore the decorum warnings and spill out of whatever she's wearing."

"I'm glad Charles is marrying for love," said Campbell Scott, a 27-year-old originally from Titirangi. "But I don't think his chosen bride is an inspiring figure like Diana was."

- Herald on Sunday